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Friday, April 8, 2011

5 Tips To Flatten Your Belly For Summer

Kathy Kaehler's 5 Tips To Flatten Your Belly For Summer

Celebrity Trainer Kathy Kaehler has trained celebs such as Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian, Cindy Crawford and Julia Roberts. As bikini season is rapidly approaching, she gives us five ways to get a flat belly for summer. Below, find out what other ways she suggests to have a sexy tummy.

1. Skip the soda and the wine. Anything you can do to reduce the calories and any bloating will help you flatten your tummy. One easy way is to do this is to drink more plain, flat water. Flush, flush, flush!

2. Reduce calorie intake. Reducing your calories everyday is easy when you make a meal replacement shake, like the USANA Nutrimeal shakes, which are low glycemic so you don't get a sugar rush. They are also a good source of fiber so you stay fuller longer.

3. The plank. A fantastic exercise that I get all my celebrity clients to do on a daily basis is the plank. While it is borrowed from yoga, it fits into anyone's fitness routine. Hold it for at least one minute or try to build up to that. It works the muscles from top to bottom and inside out. Pull your belly in while doing it for a super strong core.

4. Avoid greens. When you want that belly to fit into the clothes for a particular night or outfit, keep the veggies at bay hours before then. This will give you less gas and bloating.

5. Walk walk walk. Get in enough cardio exercise to keep your weight maintained. Walking is the best exercise. It works all over and you can do it anywhere, anytime. I have all my clients walk, including Julia Roberts. Whether we are outside or on a treadmill, walking is one way to trim the body and keep you at your ideal weight. Because you use most of your muscles, you are adding more lean body weight which burns more calories and that helps you stay lean.

Read our Q&A with Kathy Kaehler for other suggestions on getting a flat tummy.

That's Fit: How does water help flatten out your mid section?Kathy Kaehler: It is part of the whole process. If you are hydrated your body is flushing. That is an important part about it because a lot of us live dehydrated. It helps with the bloating and the more letting your body flush, the better.

TF: What are some other ways to reduce calorie intake besides a meal replacement?KK: Make sure you're getting a balance. A lot of us think "eat a lot of protein," but it's really important to have a balance of nutrients. Anything that isn't processed is good for you. When you're eating something that comes in a box or a bag, typically you've got added salts and preservatives and different things that could cause bloating or extra calories. Look for foods that are closest to their natural states. These foods have higher water and fiber content, which always improves the shape of the belly. Fiber is key, I think fiber is most important. Make it part of a lifestyle, choose fruits with more fiber and always stay hydrated.

TF: What are your favorite exercises for a strong core?KK: I love variations of the plank. They all stem from when you're on your forearms or when you're in a full body plank on your hands and toes. But now, extend one arm so you're doing a tripod plank. Take one arm out in front of you and hold, and then switch. That really kicks in the obliques and gets deeper into those core muscles.

TF: What are your best cardio tips?KK: Utilize your time to its best effectiveness so that you're not just reading a magazine and watching the Kardashians. Really look at how many minutes you're going to spend there and see if you can push yourself in an interval fashion so that you're spending minutes where it's really hard, and then you recover, and then you back again. Make the most out of your cardio session.

TF: Do you suggest using a pedometer when walking?KK: Yes. I think it's a great way to see how many steps you are taking and how that relates to your daily activity. Active people want to drive beyond that 10,000. That includes your daily activity plus your workouts. So it's very hard to tell without a pedometer. So when you have that, it's a great guideline.